The Vision of ICLA

International Christian Leadership Academy has a vision to train, equip, and send out Holy Spirit anointed leaders to influence the nations for Jesus Christ in the 21st century. Our goal is to establish a full time school of ministry for Christian leadership that will serve a global student body.

God spoke to Larry Love many years ago about establishing a ministry training school. In 2008, we began planning for the activation of the full time school of ministry and began part time with evening classes as a step of faith toward the full time school. God has given us a very clear pattern of what He wants the school to look like and a goal of starting it in the fall of 2010.

ICLA is a 1 or 2 year school of practical ministry training with a stong emphasis on an intimate relationship with God and a global vision. At ICLA, we will seek specifically to train, equip, and send out those who have a call of God on their lives, and who are serious about knowing God better and seeing God's will done in their lives as they give themselves to advancing His kingdom in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

At ICLA, we believe that every Christian leader should learn to hear the voice of God clearly, and be led by the Holy Spirit in all aspects of life and ministry. At ICLA, hearing the voice of God will be a central focus of each student's training. Students will learn how to live their lives being led by the Holy Spirit.

At ICLA, we believe in a diakonos (servant leadership) model of Biblical Christian leadership. Students will be taught to lead by serving the body of Christ in humility. We are not interested in titles and position, but rather in following the leadership principles modeled by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Every student receives a full scholarship to ICLA but they must qualify and accept the code of honor. Students will be required to complete up to 20 hours each week of practical ministry service in ICLA, Citywide Christian Fellowship and other ministries in the community. The practical ministry service each week will always have a scheduled time  spent in the Watch Ministry, a prayer and worship ministry of Citywide Christian Fellowship.

We believe every leader needs personal accountability and mentorship by more mature leaders in the body of Christ. Students at ICLA will be assigned a faculty member or mature leader as a mentor. Students will have weekly meetings to pray with their mentor, to discuss how God is currently working in their lives and what God is speaking to them through His Word and prayer.

We have a passion to minister not only to our local community, but also to the nations of the earth. We believe that God will use us to  raise up spiritually mature men and women into fivefold Christian leadership and other leadership functions that will have a great impact in the church and the world. We believe God is going to send students to Joplin to be trained, equipped and mentored, and that these students will go out to fulfill the great commission in the cities and nations of the world.

A student's schedule at ICLA will be disciplined, intense, and very rewarding. Monday through Friday, students will spend time in the Word of God and prayer, about which they will be required to journal. Students will be required to log in for a set time of physical fitness during the week. Students will attend classes in the morning and through the afternoon and evening hours will be working in practical ministry assignments, studying, meeting with their mentor and completing homework. Students will be required to attend designated services at Citywide Christian Fellowship, our local church fellowship, and will serve at special functions.